Law enforcement officers, first responders, and other public safety officials typically utilize portable communications devices, such as portable Land Mobile Radios (LMRs). In general, not only are various types of such portable devices available, but these devices are carried and utilized by persons in many configurations and with or without one or more accessories. Accessories typically include charging devices, speaker/microphone devices, networking devices, or programming/configuration devices.
Some types of portable LMRs are provided with no means for displaying information to a user. Therefore, critical information can only be provided to the user by voice communications. In other types of portable LMRs, a limited front side display screen may be provided. Although such a configuration can be used to provide the user with information, the ability of the user to view such information may be limited. For example, if the portable LMR is currently attached to the user's body, the front display screen may not be viewable until the user removes the portable LMR from its attached location and faces the front side of the device. As a result, if the user's hands are currently occupied with other tasks, removal of the device to view the information may not be practical.
In some portable LMR devices, a top-side display has been provided to display critical information. In general such displays are designed based on the assumption that the user attaches the portable LMR to his body via a holster or belt clip. Accordingly, the top-side display is generally provided to include a fixed orientation to allow the user to simply look down at the top portion of the device to view the information.